BEIJING - A Chinese medical team stationed in Nepal, will join earthquake rescue and relief work, said China's health department Sunday.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission has contacted the team in Nepal and instructed them to "take an active part in medical relief work".

An 8.1-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal at 2:11 p.m. Beijing time, followed by a 7.0-magnitude aftershock at 2:45 p.m. The death toll has passed 1,800.

In addition, the 62 members of a specialist search & rescue team left Beijing Sunday morning to join the rescue in Nepal. According to the team's Sina microblog account, they just landed there.

The earthquake caused 17 deaths in China's Tibet, which borders on Nepal, and two moderate quakes shook the region Saturday evening and early Sunday morning.

Three medical teams from neighboring Sichuan, Chongqing and Yunnan have gone to Tibet, the commission statement said.

Tibet's health department has sent about 60 medical staff and ten ambulances to the affected areas.